No. 5 Stanford (6-1-0)
Saint Louis (1-3-1) | Sat. • noon PT
Hermann Stadium • St. Louis, Mo.
Television • A-10 Digital Network
Live Statistics • SLUBillikens.com
Complete Release (PDF)
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LOOKING AHEAD » No. 5 Stanford (6-1) finishes the nonconference portion of its schedule with a road date at Saint Louis (1-3-1) on Saturday, Sept. 23 at noon PT (2 p.m. CT) in a match carried on the A-10 Digital Network.
STANFORD-SLU SERIES » Stanford is 1-2-1 all-time against the Billikens, but the teams haven't met in 16 years. The Cardinal beat SLU in an NCAA quarterfinal on The Farm on Dec. 7, 2001, 1-0, behind a Roger Levesque goal in the 38th minute. Saint Louis beat Stanford 2-0 in Berkeley on Nov. 7, 1999, 3-0 at Stanford on Oct. 3, 1993 and the two played to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 8, 1991 in a tournament in Bloomington, Ind.
2016 REWIND » Stanford became the sixth program to win back-to-back national championships and the first to do it in a dozen years when it beat Wake Forest in penalties of the College Cup final following a scoreless 110 minutes. The Demon Deacons had match point in the fifth round of penalty kicks, but Andrew Epstein's fifth-round save prolonged the shootout. Stanford's redshirt junior keeper lunged to his left to stop Hayden Partain's championship-winning attempt and swing momentum back to the Cardinal. Sam Werner next put Stanford ahead, 5-4, with a shot up the middle, and Epstein followed with the save of his life, diving to his right to block the try of Wake's Brad Dunwell and secure back-to-back NCAA crowns for the Cardinal.
CARDINAL QUICK HITTERS »
- Stanford is one of six programs to win back-to-back national championships and was the first to do it in a dozen years. The Cardinal joined Indiana, Virginia, San Francisco, Saint Louis and Michigan State as the only collegiate soccer programs to win two consecutive championships.
- This season the Cardinal will attempt to become just the second program to win three straight NCAA titles (Virginia; 1991-94).
- Stanford on the 2016 title without allowing a goal throughout the entire tournament, becoming just the third program to ever do that (Wisconsin – 1995, San Francisco 1976).
- The Cardinal had a shutout streak of 820:27 ended with Garrett McLaughlin's goal at 1:58 for SMU on Sept. 7. Stanford would go on to score three unanswered to beat the Mustangs 3-1.
- McLaughlin's goal ended Stanford's streak of eight consecutive matches without conceding. That scoreless match number is tied for the 11th-longest in NCAA history.
- Stanford is the only school to return multiple 2016 All-Americans in 2017 (Hilliard-Arce/Langsdorf).
- The Cardinal returns nine of its 11 starters from a year ago, all of its goals scored and 91.7% of its assists (33-of-36).
- Stanford has also won Pac-12 titles each of the past three seasons, its first conference three-peat since it won four straight University and Club Soccer League championships from 1919-23.
SUPERB START » Stanford has started its season with six wins in seven games for the third time in the past four seasons. Since 2013, the Cardinal is 27-6-4 (.784) in the months of August and September. The Cardinal's 15 goals through seven games matches its total from 2015, which was the most through seven since 2002.
DEFENSE WINS » Stanford had an active shutout streak of 820:27 and hadn't allowed a goal in eight consecutive matches before SMU scored early on Sept. 7, its longest stretch in program history. Its eight-match streak is tied for the 11th-longest in NCAA history. Before Garrett McLaughlin's goal for the Mustangs, Trevor Long of Cal was the last person to score on the Cardinal when he did so at 55:01 of 2016's regular-season finale in Berkeley. Stanford's active postseason shutout streak is at seven consecutive matches, an NCAA record, and 732:17 of match time.
NCAA RANKS » Stanford is tied for fifth nationally in assists per game (2.71), 10th in points per game (7.00), 15th in scoring offense (2.14), 16th in shutout percentage (0.57) and 17th in goals against average (0.57).
SENIORS UP TOP » Forward Foster Langsdorf scored a career-high 15 goals for the Cardinal in 2016, tied for eighth in program history and the most for a Cardinal since Willie Guicci had 22 in 1981. The management science and engineering major finished fourth nationally in total goals, 10th in goals per game (0.65) and led the country in game-winning goals (8). Corey Baird led the Cardinal with six assists last season and his 26 in 68 career games rank seventh in Stanford history.
SOME OF STANFORD'S BEST » Stanford's senior forward tandem is among some of the school's all-time greats. Corey Baird's 26 career assists are seventh in the Cardinal record books and two shy of a three-way tie for fourth along with Todd Dunivant (1999-2002), Giancarlo Ferruzzi (1982-85) and Jorge Titinger (1980-83). His assist total is also second among all active players. With 29 career scores, Langsdorf is tied with Roger Levesque (1999-2002) and Jim Talluto (1989-92) for ninth in program history. No Stanford player has reach the 30-goal mark since Ferruzzi scored 32 in the early-to-mid 1980's. Langsdorf's 65 points are tied with Ryan Collins (1991-94) and Jim Talluto (1989-92) for 10th in school history. He's tied for 11th among active players in career goals and 12th in career points.
MORE LANGSDORF » With six goals and an assist through seven games, Langsdorf is 11th in the country in goals per game (0.86), fifth in total goals, 19th in points per game (1.86) and 12th in total points (13).
THIS & THAT » Stanford started this season with three consecutive shutouts for the first time since 2004 (5). Its Sept. 9 loss to Tulsa (2-0) was the first regular-season, nonconference loss at home since Sept. 1, 2013 when it fell 2-0 to No. 3 Georgetown. The Cardinal hasn't lost two consecutive matches in the same season since 2012, Jeremy Gunn's first year as head coach. The setback was also Stanford's first two-goal defeat since it lost 3-1 at No. 5 Washington on Oct. 5, 2014.
CHECKING IN ON THE POLLS » Stanford remained at No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches poll this week and is the only Pac-12 team ranked. The Cardinal is No. 6 in Top Drawer Soccer's top 25, No. 2 according to Soccer America and remains atop College Soccer News' top 30. The Cardinal was also the pick in the Pac-12 when the conference announced its preseason coaches poll. Stanford tallied 24 points and four first-place votes and was followed by UCLA, Washington, SDSU, OSU and Cal.
WATCH LISTS » All-Americans Tomas Hilliard-Arce and Foster Langsdorf are two of 31 players on the 2017 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. The Cardinal is the only school in the country with multiple players recognized. Stanford also placed a league-best four on the All-Pac-12 preseason team in seniors Corey Baird, Hilliard-Arce, Langsdorf and Drew Skundrich. Hilliard-Arce was also voted to the Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Best XI first team, Langsdorf the second team, Skundrich the third team and Logan Panchot the freshman team. Stanford's four preseason honorees are tied with Virginia for the national lead.
SENIOR CLASS CANDIDATES » Tomas Hilliard-Arce, Foster Langsdorf and Drew Skundrich were each named to a list of 30 NCAA men's soccer student-athletes selected as candidates for the 2017 Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes seniors that have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. Stanford has done well recently as far as the Senior CLASS Award is concerned. Brandon Vincent and Brian Nana-Sinkam have earned Senior CLASS Award Second Team All-America status the past two years.
GREAT UNDER GUNN » One of four coaches to win NCAA titles in both Division I and Division II, head coach Jeremy Gunn's teams are 71-24-16 (.712) in his five-plus seasons on The Farm. He owns a career record of 258-85-47 (.722) in 18-plus seasons, a mark which makes him the third winningest active coach at the Division I level (by percentage). With Stanford's 2016 NCAA title Gunn became the seventh coach in Division I history to win back-to-back national championships along with Jerry Yeagley, Bruce Arena, Steve Negoesco, Harry Keough, Gene Kenney and Bob Guelker.
THREE SEASONS OF SUCCESS » The nation's most successful collegiate soccer program over the past three seasons, Stanford is 52-9-11 and leads the nation in winning percentage since 2014 (.799), has won back-to-back national championships and three consecutive Pac-12 titles.
CONFINES OF CAGAN » Stanford went 9-1-2 at home in 2016, 19th in the country in percentage (.833) and tied for fifth in wins. The Cardinal has posted a 32-3-6 (.854) record at home since 2014 with a goals against average of 0.54.
WHAT'S BACK, WHAT'S NOT » Unlike last season, when Stanford was forced to replace nearly have of its lineup, nine of 11 starters return in 2017, including two All-Americans, three all-region performers and five All-Pac-12 players. Goalkeeper Andrew Epstein, who finished his superb career with a 46-8-11 record and a NCAA-record 0.34 postseason goals against average, graduated from Stanford with his degree in electrical engineering and is readying to begin work in Benin with the Peace Corps. Brian Nana-Sinkam became the Cardinal's eighth first-round selection when he was chosen with the 22nd overall pick by the Seattle Sounders in January's MLS SuperDraft and is currently playing with Sounders FC2.
ALL-AMERICANS BACK » Thirteen schools return at least one All-American in 2017, but Stanford is the only team in the country returning multiple in Tomas Hilliard-Arce and Foster Langsdorf. Since their arrival on campus in 2014, Stanford is the winningest program in the country by percentage with an overall record of 52-9-11 (.799) and has won back-to-back national championships and three consecutive Pac-12 titles.
TOP CLASS » Along with its 13 retuning letterwinners, the Cardinal welcomes the nation's consensus No. 1 recruiting class as freshmen this fall, including four of the nation's top 20 players according to Top Drawer Soccer. Logan Panchot, Charlie Wehan, Arda Bulut, Jack O'Brien and Carson Vom Steeg have all debuted this season. Panchot has started every game at right back while Adam Mosharrafa, who played in that spot last season, has slid over to occupy Brian Nana-Sinkam's old position at center back alongside Tomas Hilliard-Arce.
FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME » For the first time since 2013, someone other than Andrew Epstein is between the pipes for the Cardinal. Redshirt senior Nico Corti has taken over for Stanford's All-American keeper and recorded three shutouts in his first three career starts this season. He's 16th nationally in goals against average (0.57) and his four total shutouts are 13th nationally. Entering the year, Corti hadn't allowed a goal in 76 career minutes. He was a part of seven shutouts as a substitute from 2014-16.
TREE-PEAT » Stanford finished its regular season 11-3-4 overall and 8-1-1 in league action last season, setting a school record for Pac-12 wins. Its 2016 conference title sits on the mantle alongside championships from 2015, 2014 and 2001 and the Cardinal is the second Pac-12 school to win three in a row. UCLA won four consecutive conference crowns from 2002-05. Stanford's Pac-12 record during its three-year run of dominance is 21-3-6.
IT'S HOW YOU FINISH » Stanford, which started its 2016 season 0-1-3, averaged 0.75 goals and gave up 0.83 per game in those four matches, finished the year 15-2-2 in its last 19, averaging 1.84 goals per game and with a goals against average of 0.53. On the year, Stanford was 39th nationally in scoring offense (1.65 goals per game) and fourth in team goals against average (0.56).
SCORE TWICE AND WIN » Stanford has scored two or more goals in 57 of Jeremy Gunn's 111 matches as Stanford's head coach and is 51-0-6 in those games. The Cardinal hasn't lost when scoring at least two goals since Nov. 11, 2010, when it fell 3-2 at Cal.